1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing system including a box and a printer, which is installed on a street. More particularly, it pertains to a printing system that can appropriately correct a color tone, based on history data relating to the temperature or humidity in the box.
2. Background Art
A printing system of a sublimation transfer recording type is known as a system that uses a sublimation dye to transfer a color material by a thermal head so as to form a full-color image. Such a printing system is utilized for various purposes, such as printing an image based on digital data of a picture taken by a camera.
The printing system can be installed on a street such that a user operates the same to print digital data. The printing system includes a media terminal box (so-called a kiosk terminal) and a printer of a sublimation transfer recording type disposed in the box.
The media terminal box has a touch panel monitor, slots for various recording media, an audio assist speaker, slots for coins and bills, a return coin lever, a change drop, a printed matter pick-up port, and so on. The box incorporates therein a central processing unit (CPU), a memory, an external storage unit for storing image data, a printer, and so on.
In order to print a photograph of a celebrity (so-called celebrity portrait) using this printing system, a “celebrity photo” is first selected from a menu displayed on the touch panel monitor.
After “celebrity photo” is selected, all or a part of the images of “celebrity photo” capable of being printed are displayed in a list. Then, an image desired to be printed is selected from the displayed list through the monitor.
Thereafter, the desired number of photos is specified through the monitor, and an “OK” instruction is entered in reply to a confirmation screen. Then, the desired image is printed.
An image is printed according to the following procedure. Image data corresponding to a specified image are read out from the external storage unit, and then the read-out image data are sent to the memory in the media terminal box.
The image data sent to the memory are sequentially read out, and then sent to the printer.
The printer stores the received image data in a memory of the printer. In the printer of a sublimation transfer recording type, for example, the image data are sequentially transferred by signals of a thermal head to an ink ribbon in which sublimation dye molecules are dispersed to thereby form a full-color image.
However, such a conventional printing system has the following disadvantages. That is, since an ink ribbon containing a sublimation dye and an image receiving sheet are left in the media terminal box for a long time, properties of the ink ribbon and the image receiving sheet may be changed because of changes in a dispersion state and an association state of the dye of the ink ribbon.
In particular, when the ink ribbon and the image receiving sheet are subject to high temperature and high humidity for a long time, properties thereof may be changed remarkably. When an image is printed by using such an ink ribbon and image receiving sheet, the printed image has such a color tone that is different from an original one.
In addition, since the media terminal box can be installed in various indoor and outdoor locations, it may be possible that the box is installed in a location where predetermined operating environments and conditions are not satisfied. Alternatively, even when the media terminal box itself is installed in a location where the predetermined operating environments and conditions are satisfied, the temperature and humidity around the ink ribbon and the receiving sheet may not satisfy the predetermined operating environments and conditions, depending on a structure of the box. In this case, a color tone of a printed image may change to deteriorate a printing quality thereof.
Further, since the media terminal box is installed under various environments, it is difficult for each box to maintain a constant temperature and humidity therein. A change of color tone caused by changes with time, temperature, and humidity varies for each media terminal, and therefore a uniform correction of the color tone is difficult.